Giving And The People Of God (3)

by E.I. Bassey, Lagos | Category: Giving And The People Of God | Jun 1981

The Remnant

Long sad days passed over Judah as captives in Babylon. Jerusalem and the house of God which Solomon built were in ruins, burnt by the Chaldean forces. This was the severity of God's judgement on His people because they sinned and disregarded the holy covenant made with them at Sinai.

In the first year of king Darius, the son of Ahasuerus, a man greatly beloved sought the Lord God by prayer and supplications, with fasting and sackcloth and ashes (D~ 9). Then the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and put it also in writing (2 Chron. 36:22). The call from the royal court of Persia went out to all Judah in exile: "whosoever there is among you of all His people, his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house of the LORD, the God of Israel" (Ezra 1:3). It was a day of testing for the people of God. First, with regard to their priorities; there was a price to be paid by all who obeyed the call of God through Cyrus. Second, there was the test of willing service which involved obedience to the principle of divine separation, a return to the place of the Name (Deut. 12:5,13,14).

The word of the seer that "a remnant shall return" (Isa. 10:21) has its application in every age. Scripture records a congregation of 42,000 who went up to Jerusalem in obedience to God. Among them were priests and prophets of God, and Sheshbazzar the governor. Besides, there were 200 singing men and women and menservants and maidservants numbering 7,337. The caravan trailed horses, mules, camels and asses (Ezra 1 and 2). One account gives a survey of the 800 miles journey across the great river Euphrates and into the very track taken by Abraham 1,400 years previously, up through Damascus, and along the foot of Hermon to the Lake of Galilee, until the traveller's eyes saw the brown peaks of the mountains of Judah and the desolate ruins of the city of Zion which was Jerusalem (The Bible As History by Werner Keller).

The Beginning of Service

Ezra the scribe records two important events. The erection of the "altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt offerings thereon, as it is written in the law of Moses", and the observance of "the feast of tabernacles... according to the ordinance" (Ezra 3:2,4). Identification with God Himself and the spirit of humility before Him would seem to be the significance of these two events. There were offerings willingly given for the house of God to set it up in its place.

"They gave after their ability into the treasury of the work three score and one thousand darics of gold, and five thousand maneh of silver, and one hundred priests' garments" (Ezra 2:69 RVM). It is important to note here the principle of giving to the work of the house of God after the manner established in the days of Moses. The people of God gave, and that willingly without levy. Two years from their arrival in Jerusalem, the foundation of the temple of the LORD was laid. It was a momentous day for the remnant of God's people. "Many of the priests and Levites and heads of fathers' houses, the old men that had seen the first house, when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, wept with a loud voice; and many shouted aloud for joy: so that the people could not discern the noise of the shout of joy from the noise of the weeping of the people" (Ezra 3:12,13).

Through Many Tribulations

Many trying events followed. The Samaritans strove for a compromise of principles. They hired counsellors against the remnant of God's people, to frustrate their purpose, all the days of Cyrus king of Persia. Then a letter was sent to the Persian king opposing the rebuilding of the temple (Ezra 4) and the work of the house of God ceased for many years until the second year of king Darius the son of Hystaspes. The second year of king Darius saw the beginning of the ministry of the prophets Haggai and Zechariah. Similar in character to Joshua and Zerubbabel, Haggai and Zechariah the prophets fit well the description, "the two sons of oil, that stand by the Lord of the whole earth". Their ministry stirred the remnant to action in the work of the house of God. "Who hath despised the day of small things?" (Zech. 4). "Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in your cieled houses while this house lieth waste?" "Thus saith the LORD of hosts: consider your ways. Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house; and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith the LORD (Hag, 1:4,7-8). "Then rose up Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and began to build the house of God... and with them were the prophets of God, helping them" (Ezra 5:2). How important is the ministry of godly men in times of crises and tribulations! "Where there is no vision the people perish" (Prov. 29:18, A.V.). "What seest thou?" said the angel to Zechariah and he replied saying: "I have seen, and behold, a candlestick (lampstand) all of gold" (Zech. 4:2). He gave the vision to the remnant, and while they saw it, no weapon formed against them could prosper, until the work of the house of God was finished in the sixth year of the reign of Darius. Then followed days of the restoration of the services of the house of God and the erection of the walls of Jerusalem by Nehemiah.

Highlights

Be it in the days of Joshua and Zerubbabel or Ezra, in the restoration of the services of the house of God; or Nehemiah, in the erection of the walls, no principle divinely ordained was set aside. Where there could have been failures, there were corrections, rebukes and exhortations through the ministry of godly men. Thus that generation of the people of God honoured their God on two important counts. First, divine principles already established were upheld and observed. Second, they received the vision of God's house, rallied to build it' and finished the work. We will next consider the subject in the period of the New Testament people of God.

E.I. Bassey, Lagos | Jun 1981
Giving And The People Of God